Butte County Pumps Roar Back: Court Lifts Water Curtailment

ARCO, Idaho — Farmers in Butte County fired up irrigation pumps this week after a court temporarily lifted a state-ordered water curtailment affecting the Big Lost and Little Lost River basins. The order, initially enforced by the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) on Nov. 21, 2025, had forced three groundwater districts — including the Big Lost River Ground Water District — to halt pumping due to noncompliance with a required mitigation plan under Senate Bill 1341, passed in 2024. That law added these junior rights to the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer management area, mandating users join an approved mitigation plan by Nov. 1, 2025, or face shutdowns during shortages.[1][2][6] The breakthrough followed a joint emergency stay request filed Friday by the Surface Water Coalition and groundwater districts, urging IDWR to pause enforcement while a technical review assesses integration into the statewide 2024 mitigation plan. IDWR Director Matt Weaver had denied an earlier stay after a April 15 status conference, but the court's intervention now allows most farmers to irrigate crops already in the ground. Big Lost River Ground Water District Chairman Mike Telford called recent talks productive, though tensions linger over claims of 'extortion' by the coalition in negotiation tactics.[1][2][4][5] Low snowpack and early-season demand exacerbated the crisis in this arid region west of the Pioneer Mountains, where hay, alfalfa and grain fields sustain local economies. The 2024 plan offers a 'safe harbor' by requiring reduced pumping offset by storage and recharge, but Butte districts sought inclusion this year without full renegotiation. As legal battles continue in state court, farmers like those in Arco brace for a final IDWR decision that could reshape water allocations for thousands of acres.[3][6]